More than 80 public servants based at Parliament House will be moved to a nearby legal office for two years as the building struggles to deal with capacity and security upgrades.
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Senate president Stephen Parry has also confirmed an internal review of the troubled Department of Parliamentary Services has been completed, awaiting final approval before public release.
The review, led by 30-year public sector veteran Ken Baxter, was triggered after allegations of bullying, clashes between former boss Carol Mills and parliamentarians, and a perceived loss of public confidence.
The review was completed in December and provided to a Senate committee, but Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd has called on department secretary Robert Stefanic to make a submission before any public release.
"Once we receive that and presiding offers make a response we will be happy to make the report public, but in confidence and good faith we have provided a copy to this committee as an interim measure," Mr Parry said.
Senator Penny Wong asked whether other senators would be provided with a copy of the confidential report before approval from Mr Lloyd.
"With all due respect, the commissioner is not the least controversial figure in the bureaucracy," she said.
Mr Parry said it would be premature to release the report before consideration and insisted senators would be consulted on its final recommendations.
When Speaker of the House Tony Smith and Mr Parry announced the review in August they did not shy from concealing the challenges facing the department and its workforce.
"We are conscious that the department has been subject of much attention and review over recent years," they wrote.
"The review is expected to be short in duration and is not expected to interfere with the daily work of the department.
"We are confident that this process will allow us to establish a firm base for the future."
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At a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday, Mr Stefanic said 85 staff from the ICT and finance workforce would be based in the nearby Minter Ellison building in Barton for two years.
"As part of the security upgrade works we will need to relocate a number of DPS staff off-site because there is no other space in Parliament House to relocate them," he said.
Mr Stefanic also confirmed the Department of Finance had been consulted about moving parts of the DPS workforce into space at Old Parliament House and Treasury.
A strategic review of occupancy at Parliament House to determine its accommodation needs and contingency measures remains ongoing.
Senator Wong said many of the 10,000 politicians, staffers, public servants, journalists and other workers at the building remained uncertain about future arrangements.
